Investors seeking stock opportunities should refer to Golden麒麟 analyst reports for authoritative, professional, timely, and comprehensive analysis to uncover potential thematic investments! The rise of AI large models has spurred new GEO demand, also fueling the stock prices of related concept companies, with Leo Group Co.,Ltd. being one of the beneficiaries. Since Leo Group resumed trading on January 21st, its stock price experienced a correction; by the close on January 27th, the stock had fallen a cumulative 18.27% over five trading sessions, with its latest total market capitalization reaching 57.56 billion yuan. Despite the significant correction over the past five trading days, the company's stock has still surged 50% since the beginning of 2026, making it a hotly discussed stock in the market. This round of上涨 for Leo Group was not driven by performance fundamentals, but rather by secondary market capital chasing AI application concept stocks. Leo Group is leveraging AI technology to empower its main business, leading外界 to view it as a leader in AI digital marketing. Reviewing Leo Group's development, the company originally started as a water pump manufacturer exporting to Europe. The name "Leo" is derived from "LEO," meaning "lion," symbolizing strength, speed, and unity. After internal discussion, Leo Group felt "LEO" was simple, memorable, and carried significant寓意. After listing, Leo Group actively pursued capital operations to develop into a comprehensive pump enterprise. Starting in 2013, Wang Xiangrong led the company into the digital marketing sector, establishing a dual-main business model of "pump industry + digital marketing," transforming into a listed company combining traditional manufacturing with tech-oriented concepts. Currently, Leo Group's business operations encompass media agency services, mechanical manufacturing, and digital marketing services. Operationally, Leo Group's performance has been unstable in recent years, fluctuating between profitability and losses. With the rise of cutting-edge technology, Wang Xiangrong is attempting to seize the historic opportunity presented by the AI赛道; can Leo Group capture new industry红利? Losing his "iron rice bowl" job, Wang Xiangrong ventured into entrepreneurship and built an industry leader with a market cap of over 50 billion yuan. Since its IPO in 2007, Leo Group has been listed for over 19 years, gradually growing into an industry leader with a market capitalization of 57.56 billion yuan. The key figure behind Leo Group's growth is Wang Xiangrong, known as China's "Pump King." Wang Xiangrong graduated from Hangzhou Chemical School, majoring in chemical machinery. After completing his studies, he was assigned to the state-owned Wenling Light Industry Motor Factory. In those days, the young Wang Xiangrong was diligent and eager to learn; through personal effort, he rose to the position of Deputy Section Chief of the Technical Department and was even publicly funded to study at Lanzhou University of Technology. In the 1990s, as the industry environment changed, the Light Industry Motor Factory eventually went bankrupt, and Wang Xiangrong lost his "iron rice bowl." With his technical service experience, Wang Xiangrong spotted an industry opportunity. At 23, he chose to start a business, founding Wenling Xinke Water Pump Research Institute—the only water pump research institute in Taizhou—engaged in R&D, testing, and equipment supply for water pumps. In 2001, Wang Xiangrong established Leo Group Co., Ltd. (now Leo Group). In just one year, by 2002, Leo Group's output value exceeded 150 million yuan. Between 2001 and 2006, Leo Group became the first water pump manufacturer in Taizhou to export to Europe. Simultaneously, Wang Xiangrong keenly洞察 the opportunities in the capital markets and began preparations for an IPO. After a series of meticulous preparations and comprehensive reforms, including shareholding system reform, standardizing financial and tax systems, and listing辅导, Leo Group successfully listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange's SME Board on April 27, 2007. On the eve of the listing, Wang Xiangrong was informed that he was the youngest chairman of a listed company on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges at that time. After listing, Leo Group transformed from a single民用 pump manufacturer into a comprehensive pump enterprise covering both民用 and industrial fields through multiple rounds of investment and strategic布局. Beyond strengthening and refining its manufacturing business, Wang Xiangrong also contemplated how to adapt to new situations and trends. The direction he found was leveraging the internet to empower traditional enterprises. In the past, Leo Group conducted research on the internet advertising, film, and gaming industries, ultimately看好 the digital marketing industry. Wang Xiangrong and his management team believed that games and movies changed too rapidly, with many uncertainties, and were not stable projects for long-term profitability. Starting in 2013, Leo Group跨届 entered the internet marketing field, becoming the first digital marketing company in the A-share market through several acquisitions and investments, thereby constructing a dual-business segment of "mechanical manufacturing + digital communication." When Leo Group first listed, Wang Xiangrong set a "small goal" for himself: to build the company into a world-class pump product manufacturer within ten years, with annual sales exceeding 10 billion yuan. Financial reports show that in fiscal year 2017, Leo Group achieved revenue of 10.57 billion yuan, breaking through the 10-billion-yuan revenue barrier. Expanding from traditional manufacturing into digital marketing—two seemingly unrelated industries—Wang Xiangrong was once asked if others criticized him for being "unfocused" or "not attending to his proper duties." Wang Xiangrong's response was that entrepreneurship requires the courage and vision to be a pioneer, and innovation necessitates a跨届 thinking mindset that might be perceived as "not sticking to one's last." Over the past few decades, Leo Group has grown from a water pump research institute into a comprehensive group spanning both the pump industry and digital marketing sectors, a result of Wang Xiangrong leading the company's跨届 transformation. Despite Leo Group's rising valuation in the capital markets, the company's performance has shown significant fluctuations in recent years. Over the seven years from 2018 to 2024, Leo Group incurred losses in four years: a loss of 1.86 billion yuan in 2018, 1.019 billion yuan in 2021, 441.1 million yuan in 2022, and 259.3 million yuan in 2024. For the first three quarters of 2025, Leo Group's revenue decreased by 8.80% year-on-year, while its net profit attributable to shareholders increased by 469.10%. Facing these performance fluctuations, Wang Xiangrong seeks to break this cycle of instability. In the 2024 annual report, Wang Xiangrong and other management mentioned that Leo Group's new strategic goal is to promote the deep application of AI and become a leading enterprise in both the pump and digital marketing industries. The entity tasked with the strategic布局 of AI is Leo Digital, a subsidiary established in October 2015. Leo Digital began布局 the AI field in 2023 and developed the "Leo Digital AI Integrated Platform," which is open to group employees. Its AI Creative Factory module is already applied to the multimodal production of advertising materials for automotive industry advertisers and is being promoted to various sectors like 3C digital, cosmetics, education, and tourism in 2026. Currently, Leo Digital has gradually established an AI agent framework covering the entire marketing chain, including需求 insight, creative generation, ad placement, post-campaign optimization, and customer service response. At this stage, Leo Group possesses AI video generation and content creation capabilities and is preparing to explore the new赛道 of AI comic series. Leo Group states that its AI capabilities have gradually shifted from single-point exploration to multi-link applications and continue to serve its core digital marketing business. However, in the AI field, Leo Group faces competition from various types of rivals. These competitors either hold advantages in scale or possess expertise in specific areas (such as overseas expansion or technology). In the AI advertising sector, industry leader BlueFocus, driven by its dual strategy of "overseas expansion + AI," achieved revenue of 51.1 billion yuan in the first three quarters of 2025, over 3.5 times Leo Group's revenue for the same period; Yeahka increased its AI investments, with revenue from overseas accounting for 82.64% in the first half of 2025, compared to Leo Group's overseas revenue占比 of 12.21% for the same period. Furthermore, while Leo Group has established cooperative relationships with tech giants like ByteDance, Baidu, and Tencent, when it provides AI products, it also, to some extent, enters into a competitive relationship with these internet platforms. How much incremental performance can betting on the AI field bring to Leo Group? Leo Group坦言 that while it is promoting the application and development of AI-related businesses in some operational scenarios, it has not yet formed a large-scale profitable model overall. The revenue from these activities constitutes a relatively small proportion of total revenue and does not have a material impact on overall operating performance and financial condition. In summary, the story of Leo Group is a typical缩影 of a Chinese traditional manufacturing giant proactively seeking change and integrating跨届 in the wave of digitalization. With its dual-track design of "water pumps + AI," it certainly captures attention, but having the right赛道 without sufficient driving force is futile. The challenge ahead for Wang Xiangrong likely lies in balancing the fundamental pump business, securing a firm foothold amidst booming energy demand, while simultaneously excelling in digital marketing to create new growth drivers for the AI era. We will continue to monitor Leo Group's future operational performance.
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